STUDENTS OF THE GAME

WHILE THE SPREAD OF FOOTBALL CAN, IN A NUMBER
OF CASES BE ATTRIBUTED TO BRITISH SAILORS,
RAILWAY WORKERS AND BUSINESSMEN TRAVELLING
TO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, SOUTH AMERICA AND
BEYOND, THE INFLUENCE OF UNIVERSITIES AND
STUDENTS IN THE GROWTH OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
AROUND THE WORLD CAN BE SEEN IN SOME OF ITS
BIGGEST, AND NOT SO BIG, CLUBS.

It was in many of these forward-thinking institutions
of learning that the game expanded around the globe.
In the latter stages of the 19th century private schools
in England like Eton, Rugby and other colleges were
playing their own rules of football. At the same time
the laws of the game were being codified for the first
time. The world’s oldest club, Sheffield FC, were drawing
up the Sheffield Rules which were adopted by teams
in the north of England. The FA published The Football
Association Laws in 1863 as football was taking root
in England and beyond. Ex-students of some of these
elite private schools and universities had formed
a team in London called Corinthians. The club that
once supplied the entire England team’s players went
on a tour of Brazil in 1910 and inspired a new outfit
in Sao Paulo to take the name of the visiting side.

In the United States, Princeton and Rutgers universities
were playing a variation of football that would
eventually become American football. In Spain, one
of the world’s most famous and successful clubs, Real
Madrid owes its origins to students when, in the early
part of the 20th century as football began to take hold
in the country, students from the Institucion Libre de
Ensenanza are credited with introducing football to the
city and forming the Football Club Sky in 1897. A split
a few years later saw the creation of two clubs; New
Foot-Ball de Madrid and Madrid Football Club which
would become Real Madrid.

Playing in the Primera Division in Santiago, Club
Universidad de Chile are one of the most popular teams
in the South American country. With 17 league titles and
an undefeated run in the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, they
are also one of the most successful. Founded in 1927
by a group of students, the club and university were
separated in 1980 by the club president and university
rector, who had been appointed under the General
Pinochet dictatorship. The team’s Owl logo was chosen
for the wisdom and learning associated with the bird.
It does not appear on the jerseys however. A red
varsity-style U sits in its place instead.

Club Universidad de Chile’s cross-city rivals, Club
Deportivo Universidad Catolica are also one of Chile’s
most popular clubs. Together they contest the derby
known as the Clasico Universitario. Along with Colo
Colo the clubs make up the ‘Big Three’. The team from
one of Santiago’s more salubrious neighbourhoods
was officially formed in 1937 but before that, former
students had been reuniting since 1910, to play football
matches together, often facing off against Universidad
de Chile.

Universitario de Deportes are Peru’s most celebrated
club. The side, founded in 1924 by students and
teachers at the National University of San Marcos,
play their home games in the 80,000 capacity Estadio
Monumental in Lima. Winners of 26 first division
crowns, they were the first Peruvian side to reach the
Copa Libertadores final. The club was initially formed
as Federación Universitaria with small tournaments
held between the different university faculties and
departments. Their impressive results led to an invite
by the Peruvian Football Association to join the league
in 1928. The distinctive Universitario home kit came
about after laundry workers turned their originally
white jerseys cream by accident when rushing to get
them ready for an upcoming match. The club kept the
look when they won the game, considering the new
colours a good luck charm.

Club de Fútbol Universidad Nacional AC play in the
68,954 capacity, Unesco World Heritage Site listed,
Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City. One
of the most popular clubs in the country, the Pumas,
as they are commonly known, tog out in Notre Dameinspired
blue and gold kits. The famous Indiana
university’s Fighting Irish coaches helped develop
an American football program in the school, it being
the students favoured sport in the early part of the
20th century. The distinctive Puma crest stretches over
the entire front of the shirt. The great Hugo Sanchez
received a degree in dentistry at the University while
playing for UNAM as an eighteen-year-old.

Founded in 1895 as the Catholic University Medical
School Football Club, and changed to University College
Dublin in 1908 following a merger, UCD currently ply
their trade in the second division of the League of
Ireland. They played in the first ever FAI Senior Cup
against fellow non-league side Shamrock Rovers in
1921, losing 6-2 to the team that would go on to become
Ireland’s most successful club. UCD were the first
Irish team to tour such far flung outposts as India,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
A partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps of the
North American Soccer League in 1981, then managed
by John Giles, saw players linking up with the South
Dublin club to play during the NASL off-season.